A young YouTube talent: how Oleksiy Shevtsov became a popular blogger on the global Internet

Alexey Shevtsov received his first recognition as a technoblogger. Back in 2013, he created the Itpedia tech and gaming channel, where he began to share honest and objective reviews and analysis of various technologies, gadgets, and innovations in the IT sector.

In his videos, the famous blogger reviews new tech products, compares different models, and shares his opinion on the quality and functionality of devices. He also talks about the technical characteristics and features of the gadgets. Oleksiy Shevtsov tries to give only objective assessments and not promote certain products. Thanks to this, his channel is trusted by viewers and is considered one of the best sources of information about technology. In 2017, as a result of his hard work, talent, and, as a result, the love of his subscribers, he became the owner of the first YouTube golden button.

Today, Alexey has several successful channels on the popular platform. Itpedia has more than 2.5 million subscribers and more than 2 million followers on his personal channel "Alexey Shevtsov", which he launched on the wave of Itpedia's rapidly growing success, dedicated mainly to travel. Today, Alexey Shevtsov is the third most important travel channel in the Russian-language segment of YouTube.

– Today, itpedia is a very large and popular channel, with each video gaining between 800 thousand and several million views. But how did it all start?

– I've always been fond of electronics, games, and I used to do amateur phone repairs. For example, I used to replace broken glass or replace batteries. At some point, I wanted to share my guides with people. After all, my father is a naval engineer, and I spent my entire childhood in the workshop. It was 2013, and YouTube was very different then. I felt that the platform was in dire need of short, concise, and honest tech reviews, not long readings of advertising brochures. Literally all of the first videos were critical reviews of gadgets and games, which attracted a lot of attention right away.

– Not all bloggers succeed immediately. Many bloggers have been publishing videos for years to gain even a small audience, but you managed to gain more than 2 million, what's the secret?

– You won't believe it, but this was my first video. It was a critical review of the Sony PS Vita game console - it was an extremely unsuccessful product. But on the Internet, almost no one talked about the shortcomings, everyone praised it and talked about the endless advantages of the console. I felt that my mission was to prevent potential buyers from making the mistake of buying it. It was indeed an instant success. Hundreds of thousands of views in the first month, which was incredible for 2013 and a new channel. Today, the video has 2.1 million views.

– Alexey, after your YouTube channel gained more than 2 million subscribers, TikTok, Samsung, Sony and many others became your advertisers. How quickly did such big and well-known sponsors come to you?

– It took a while. For the first two years, I received only small tips from the platform - about $20 per month - but I continued to shoot because I had infinite faith in myself and the business I was doing.

And, you know, ironically, the reference brand I worked with was Sony. My channel started with criticism of their console, and then these same people became my clients and sent me to the most prestigious gaming and tech exhibitions around the world. There were others: Samsung, Tiktok, MSI, and many other big brands with whom we created mutually beneficial commercial relationships. But the Sony brand is a different story. We became friends with the team and still communicate because the brand managers are my viewers who have been watching my channel for many years.

– You mentioned that YouTube has changed since 2013. Has it become easier to create content? Could you tell us about the technical features?

– The main thing that has changed is that high-quality video has become cheaper. Today, almost everyone has a phone with a good camera, and neither in 2013 nor even in 2018 was it possible to shoot a good video on a phone. The only option was a professional camera, and it cost a lot of money. For several months I collected donations on streams for a Sony A7SII, which cost almost $5000, it was a semi-professional mirrorless camera that still gives a good picture, but now the cost of a 4k camera is $800, and now I shoot with a Sony A7 IV, which costs $2500, which is inexpensive for a camera of this level. Drones and high-quality microphones are available to everyone. And if earlier a drone image could cause a "wow effect" in the viewer, today it is a basic shooting.

However, I can confidently say that expensive equipment will not bring success; everyone has it. But not everyone has charisma.

– You definitely have enough of it. On top of that, your channel in 2013 is a real innovation in the blogging world. What do you think helped you achieve success?

– You can gain a large audience if you bring something new. I believe I brought a format of honest, critical tech reviews with a dash of humor and sketches. My tech and game reviews were watched even by people who never planned to buy the thing. When I came to YouTube, there were either popular channels making sponsored videos everywhere, obviously, there was no honest opinion, or honest reviews of this or that technology, filmed on a terrible phone with bad sound and where the author expresses his opinion for 40 minutes - it was boring. What if I took the best of all this and made short, fun, and high-quality reviews?" I thought, and I did.

– You have achieved success in the blogging sphere and have a large audience on various Internet platforms. Did you face any difficulties in the process?

– The whole activity is one big story of tasks that need to be solved: a video that took a month to make did not get the expected coverage - it happens, you have to accept it and work on. During filming, various problems occur: losing a flash drive with a bunch of content, losing a drone in the mountains - you have to accept it and work on. Sometimes YouTube has unfairly disabled monetization on some videos, even though you've invested a lot of money in them - you have to accept it and keep working. Don't whine, don't cry. Discipline, the ability to find what the audience needs in time, regularity, and faith in myself are what helped me achieve results.

– Alexey, you are a popular Ukrainian blogger. What advice can you give to new bloggers?

– The main advice is that if you want to blog for the sake of earning money and are not ready to wait for years before something starts to work, then don't start. There is astronomical competition on YouTube today. This doesn't mean that you won't succeed, but it does mean that you'll need to put in even more astronomical effort, because viewers are fed up with beautiful pictures, an expensive camera won't impress them, and cool editing won't impress them either. All you need today is charisma. But you can't buy it on YouTube, just like on any other social network; there will always be room for creative and interesting people. You have to create content that people will want to send to each other in personal messages - that's the secret.